


Ripple Effect

by Magestorrow



Series: Human Nature [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, a sister fic to butterfly effect, featuring a narrator who is actually part of the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-05-21 10:52:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14914008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magestorrow/pseuds/Magestorrow
Summary: For as long as Ed and Al could remember, their uncle Reyes had been a part of their life. He was there for them when their father wasn't, and was the one constant in their tumultuous childhood. Uncle Reyes was odd - he always wore an eye-patch, and never told them any stories about childhood - yet they loved him anyways. But when Ed and Al commit the ultimate taboo by trying to bring their mother back from the dead, they learn that their uncle is a little more bizarre than they thought he was.A retelling of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, in which Wrath escaped from Father after being created and ended up becoming Ed and Al's guardian.





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue ******

**  
******  


********

According to Reyes, the only proper way to start a story was with once upon a time. Jarring first lines and quirky introductions to characters had the possibility of making a story interesting, but it was the classic beginning that made a story feel like a second home. That was ultimately why people read: they wanted a comfortable escape from their hectic lives, and any other sort of beginning would make the story feel alienated.

Reyes was not a writer. He knew nothing of the necessity of hooks to make a story sell, nor how the writers praised above all others were the ones who told something different. But he was a reader, and he believed that it made him quite knowledgeable about the subject. If he was asked how his story began a story that would eventually come to include countless others he would have started it with the most cliché line of all. It would be easy to start this story at any other point than Reyes – in Central, in Dublith or even near Briggs – but it is clear to everyone involved that he was the catalyst.

So let us begin, in the way that he would have wanted us to.

**xXx**

Once upon a time, there was a traveler named Reyes Eberhardt.

Reyes was a simple man with simple tastes. Those who met him tended to forget him days later, due to his apparent ordinariness. The few who would recall him afterwards would realize they knew little about the stranger who had passed through their town, as he had never given more than a name to the people there. It would be impossible to learn more about him. One could theoretically trace his life by going in the opposite direction to determine what town he had originally come from, but anyone who attempted such a feat would discover that Reyes Eberhardt had never truly had a home to call his own. They would also discover another curious fact: Reyes Eberhardt had been traveling for a handful of years, and this was the only time that his location could be pinpointed. 

Reyes Eberhardt was the type of man who gave everything the world gave him back tenfold. A passionate yet somehow dull man, Reyes should have easily made friends with anyone he met. His opinions were not too jarring, and his interests – though no one could ever remember what they were afterwards – were well-loved by the traveler. Yet it took Reyes nearly a decade to make someone he would come to call a friend, and this person was perhaps just as odd as he was.

This man was named Van Hohenheim, and they bonded over something that I will not yet disclose. All that you, the reader, need to know is that this bond became quite strong as they traveled together. They each had their own motivations for their travels, and those motivations frequently aligned. They learned more about themselves through each other than they had ever hoped to learn from another person. They would have like spent an eternity basking in their friendship, but then they happened upon a little farm town with an automail mechanic, Pinako, that Van had met several times in the past. 

They ended up staying with this mechanic, her son and her daughter-in-law. The young couple thought that both of the travelers were quite odd, but they accepted the two during their brief time in the household. While on one of their trips out into town, Van met a woman he would marry years later. Her name was Trisha Elric. Reyes did not have the same fate as Van, but this was something he was not upset about. He was happy to be a part of their family. He was the best man at their wedding. He lived in a house only a short walk from theirs that he had built himself. And when their first son, Edward, it was decided that Reyes would be both his guardian and honorary uncle. The same decision was made when their second and final son, Alphonse, was born. Reyes had always been determined to find a home, and he found one in the family Trisha and Hohenheim had built for themselves. A family picture was never taken with Reyes present. Every birthday that the boys had was celebrated with Reyes in attendance. He was there when Edward had his first day of school, and was there when Alphonse took his first steps. 

But then Van had to leave his family.

It was never officially decided, but Reyes became the father figure in Edward and Alphonse's lives. He would spoil them rotten with treats and gifts, and was known to frequently fall for their attempts to persuade him into buying them candy on ventures out into the local market. As Trisha became ill and war struck nearby Ishval, Reyes spent increasingly more time in their lives. When Trisha was having an especially terrible night, he would bring the boys to his home and leave her in the care of the town doctor.

It was a responsibility he had never asked for, but Reyes was not the type of man to lament this unfortunate turn of events. He did everything he could for the boys. When their mother passed, he came to a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life: he would leave the boys to find their father. He left them in the care of Pinako, believing that the only troubles that the boys would face would be the hardship of grief.

If he had known how wrong he was, he would have never left.

He spent countless days searching for Van Hohenheim, but it was impossible to track down his closest friend. He eventually returned – alone – to Resembool. It had felt like an eternity since he had seen the boys, and his heart ached at all of the milestones in their lives that he had missed. As mentioned before, Reyes was a simple man. He tended to believe in the good of humanity, because it had treated him kindly and he wished to do the same. He never suspected that Edward and Alphonse would become quite talented in alchemy, something they were already skilled at it, for the sole reason of bringing back their mother from beyond the gates of Truth.

He returned to find two empty shells of the boys he had once known.

And that is where our story begins.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Reyes would remember what he saw that night in the countless days and years that followed his return to Resembool, but the sight would be just as startling as it had been the first time. He would later tell himself that he had known that things were horribly wrong when neither Edward or Alphonse answered the door. However, that was not really when the harsh reality came crashing down on him – it was not until he had wandered down into the basement and seen the thick pool of blood in the center of a transmutation circle that terror truly struck him.

Anyone with a basic understanding of alchemy would understand the purpose of that particular circle. Though Reyes had never done alchemy himself, Van had been incredibly talented with the art. Reading through his books had given him the knowledge he needed to comprehend the sight before him. He did the first thing that came to mind 

_You're writing it all wrong._

I'm not. 

_Yes, you are._

Stop writing in my notebook!

_If you're going to tell the story, you've got to get it right. Your tone sucks. You want it to be heartbreaking. The reader barely knows the characters, so you have to make up for it._

Everyone knows the Elrics and Reyes. And why are we writing this instead of talking about it?

_Because if you actually want to be a good writer, you've got to have notes somewhere. Let me tell this part. If you don't like it, you can scrap it. But I'm not having our story tarnished by your bad writing if I can help it. Not so hard, is it? And stop rolling your eyes at me._

You've never written a story in your entire life.

_You don't know that._

__

__

You're not patient enou

_As a future note, I didn't appreciate you biting my hand to get me to drop the notebook. But now, without further ado, here's the way a scene like that should go._

**xXx**

He was tired.

Every limb of his body felt heavy. His eyes stung. He could barely think straight. He could never be sore – couldn't even remember when he had last felt that way – but being exhausted from day after day of walking was possible. The conclusion of every day brought with it the sweet release of sleep. By the time he awoke in the morning, he would be ready to begin again. 

But, though the moon was high in the sky above, Reyes had yet to stop. He had intended to. He had thought of the perfect place he could stay the night, only to realize that he had no desire to do that. He had decided to return without Van because he wanted to see Alphonse and Edward again. He knew he had missed countless milestones and achievements in their lives, and he knew that he never wanted to again. He had to complete his journey. He could spend the next day sleeping and possibly the one after that, but he was going to first see the faces of his two beloved boys again.

He pushed on.

He could see their houses on the horizon now. Both were dark. He wasn't alarmed by the sight. Why should he be? It was past midnight, and they should have been asleep in bed. Edward had needed a burning lantern in his room to help him sleep, but Reyes came to the assumption anyone else would: Edward had grown out of that particular habit.

He was tempted to go to his own house, but he quickly decided against it. The only belongings he had on him were the ones inside the little bag he had slung over his shoulder. He had carried them for his entire journey. Carrying them for a few more minutes wouldn't be impossible to bear. Readjusting the strap, he hurried on to the Elric house.

In almost no time at all, he was standing on their doorstep. He was trying to think of the right thing to say – he was never sure how to start off an apology – but he was getting nowhere with it. He would just have to improvise and figure out what to say as the conversation arose. With any luck, both the boys would be too groggy to ask any major questions about his travels. He raised one hand and gave the door a strong knock.

No one answered.

He knocked again.

Still no answer.

He should have been worried at this moment. Alphonse had been a notoriously light sleeper, and the first knock should have easily woken him up. But Reyes was tired himself, and he didn't give the lack of a response much thought. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside the house. It was as dark inside as it had been outside. 

Not wanting to wake the boys by turning on the lights, Reyes began to head towards their room. They had been sharing one for the past few years, and he doubted that would change. He quickly approached their room. With just as much speed and volume as he had opened the front door, he opened the door to the bedroom.

To his surprise, neither one was in there.

Their beds were. They were neatly set, better than he remembered them ever being. Even the adults of the household hadn't be able to set them that well, and it was astonishing how much care the boys put into it. Though he wanted to marvel over how different their room had become, there was something a little more pressing – he had no idea where they had gone. He had his guesses. He checked their father's study. He checked the kitchen. He checked the living room. He even checked their parents' empty and abandoned bedrooms. But each room brought with it the same results of the last. 

He was gripped by panic. His mind was still clouded with exhaustion, but he knew that he should have been able to find them in at least one of the rooms. There was still one place left that they could be in – the basement. He couldn't figure out what they would have been doing there in the first place, but he had ruled out every other room in the house. 

All it took was one step inside the basement for terror and perhaps the fiercest anger he had ever felt to take hold of him. Where panic had failed to wake him up, anger made his entire body come alive with a strong rush of adrenaline. There was a thick pool of blood in a transmutation circle in the center of the basement, and a monstrosity accompanying it. The thing hadn't moved into the entire time he had been down there, but it was a dark room and a terrifying thing to look at it. With his nerves as frazzled as they were right now, something like that would have been expected. 

Had they been the one to do the transmuting, or had they been transmuted into that-that _thing_? If someone had hurt his boys, they would regret the day they ever set foot in the Elric household-

He took a deep breath. Clenched his hands together into fists. Bit his lip. Letting the wrath bubbling inside his chest take over was easy, but he knew better than that. His wrath would only be justified once he discovered what had happened. Until then, he had to think things through with a calm head. 

The circle looked familiar. He must have seen it one of Van's books, but Van had a _lot_ of books. It took him a minute for understanding to dawn on him: it was a human transmutation circle. A circle that was only theoretical, as bringing people back from the dead was impossible. At least, he thought it was. It wasn't something he had tested before and it wasn't something he wanted to try. But if this was all that remained in the house, and the monstrosity had somewhat feminine features...

He was looking at the failed human transmutation of Trisha Elric.

“ _Shit_ ,” he said, because how else were you supposed to respond to something like that? Even someone who knew little about alchemy understood the idea of equivalent exchange. That was the reason you just couldn't bring someone back to life when they died. You needed to replicate a soul, and dealing with souls was a tricky business. What did Edward and Alphonse sacrifice to bring back their mother? 

There was movement from the hallway. 

It was awkward and clunky. Bits of metal loudly clanged together and a young boy was quietly muttering things underneath his breath. There was an odd echo to the sound – almost as if the voice was reverberating within something. He started to head towards the doorway just as the boy in the hallway reached it. He was talking even louder now, in a voice that Reyes somewhat recognized. He thought for a moment. Was it Edward or Alphonse?

A hesitant pause. Alphonse, then. Edward had always been impulsive and he doubted that would change. Alphonse had always been the most cautious of the two, which would explain why he was taking so long to enter the room. 

“Who-who's there?” Alphonse stammered from the hallway.

“Your uncle,” he said.

If Reyes had already had his heart broken by the sight of the failed human transmutation, it was utterly shattered by the sight of Alphonse shuffling into the room, somehow seeming quite small despite being in an enormous suit of armor. Two pinpricks of white light stared at him from the darkness of the helmet, their owner staring down at the shoes Reyes was wearing. 

“Alphonse?” Reyes quietly asked. “What happened?”

He must have been doing a terrible job at hiding the anger in his voice. The moment he had finished speaking, Alphonse had managed to look even smaller than before – a feat that Reyes hadn't known was possible. “We-we tried bringing Mom back.”

That was the part he already understood. What he was more worried about was what had followed. What had been the price for their actions? Alphonse was hiding inside the suit of armor, but that wasn't something he could come up with an explanation-

Oh.

Alphonse wasn't hiding inside the armor.

He _was_ the suit of armor.

And that was when Alphonse told him everything. He told him how they had spent time learning from an alchemist who was unaware of the purpose of their studies once they realized human transmutation was a way to bring some semblance of normalcy back into their lives. How they had bought everything needed to make a human. How the thing in the transmutation circle was the result, and how he had almost lost everything because of their mistake. How Edward had lost a leg and then an arm, and the arm was what brought his soul back. How he had made a blood seal to keep Alphonse's soul attached to one of Van's old suits of armor. How he had brought Edward to the Rockbell's house, and how it had only been hours since the incident had occurred. 

Interwoven through it all was Alphonse's growing panic about the situation. He hadn't been able to feel a thing since he ended up in the armor, he said. He couldn't sleep. He had tried and tried and tried, but armor couldn't sleep and that was what he had become. He couldn't cry, even though he wanted to sob when he thought about how broken Edward had been when he brought him to their neighbors' house. He was sure that everyone was going to hate him, too. His teacher would be furious, they'd get in trouble with all the state alchemists, and his dad would be disappointed when he returned. Even his uncle was already upset with him, and he hadn't seen him in years-

That was where Reyes cut him off. He couldn't say for certain what was going to happen to Alphonse, but there was one thing he knew was wrong about what had been said. He took a step forward and embraced Alphonse. Hugging a gigantic suit of armor was certainly difficult, but he somehow managed.

“I'm not mad at you, Alphonse.”

Alphonse sniffled. “You're not?”

“I'm not,” he promised. 

“But you were angry when you asked what happened,” he protested, his voice just as quiet as it had been when he had first spoken. “Weren't you?”

He shook his head. “I wasn't angry at you or your brother. I'm angry with myself. I should have been there for you two. If I had been, you wouldn't be stuck like that, and Edward wouldn't be missing an arm and a leg.” 

They stood in silence for a moment.

Then Alphonse threw his arms around Reyes and gave him the tightest hug he could muster. He might have gotten a broken rib or two out of it, but who was he to argue? He clearly forgave him for his absence. Edward was certainly going to be a different story. The time following Van's departure had been filled with bitterness on the part of the older Elric brother. But he would deal with whatever happened, no matter what the future held for them. And as he stood in silence, hugging Alphonse, he promised himself he would never let the boys get hurt like this again. 

_Done._

That was actually good.

_Of course it was. I'm a storyteller too, you know._

Sure you are.

_So what now? What are we writing next?_

I'm the one telling the story. It's my notebook.

_But I'm in the story too. You just haven't included me yet! Come on. After all the trouble you put me through, you could at least let me help you write our story down._

Okay.

_Great! I think I know the perfect place to start the next chapter off. Three travelers enter a desert town that has been reportedly been blessed by the Sun God Leto..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

Edward Elric was not a religious person. He had spent years following the laws of science and not some otherworldly force. His brother Alphonse shared this trait, for much of the same reasons. Equivalent exchange was their deity, and their circles were their altar. To suggest that the world did not run solely on the rules set forth in their alchemical texts was blasphemy. And while scientists were open-minded by nature, neither brother enjoyed being inside any sort of religious institution. The church of a purported sun god was no different than the handful of churches they had visited in the past. They would try their best to be respectful, but would ultimately grow tired of the repeated lies on the part of the religion's most devoted.

But, in this case, the most devoted was a girl named Rosé.

Rosé was young. Edward wasn't good at guessing people's ages just by looking at them, but he knew she couldn't be too old. And that, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, made him feel absolutely horrible. They had been standing inside the church for less than a minute, but he already wished they were somewhere else.

He could sense his brother's discomfort, too. It wasn't a thing he could really see, especially when any expressions were hidden behind a metal helmet. He could just sense that his brother knew that something was wrong here, and that he hated pretending that things were alright. It was something Edward could wholeheartedly agree with it. He knew Rosé would never believe them – how could she? – but he still wanted to at least give it a shot. 

So they spent the next few minutes talking. He tried his best to make her see the truth. He would only realize later how foolish he had been; he had tried using the language of alchemy when she needed the language of her religion to understand him. But he had honestly believed that something he said would ring true. Maybe just a phrase, or even just the earnest way he had spoken. But she had just gotten pissed when he had finished, and he didn't know how he could tell her that it was impossible to raise the dead without admitting he and his brother had committed the ultimate alchemical taboo.

“Well,” he finally said, trying to be nonchalant about something that was far from that casual, “it's like that myth about the hero. He made wings out of wax so he could fly, but when he too close to the sun – to God – the wax melted and he crashed to the ground.” 

The comment only produced a blank, confused look on Rosé's face. That in itself was enough to put Edward out. How was he supposed to make it any clearer? He had just recited the entire recipe for a human body and even added a metaphor for good measure. The only way he could possibly make it more obvious was to confess that he and Alphonse had attempted human transmutation.

But before she

But even though she

Bu

I can't write this part.

_It looks good to me. What's the problem?_

I just can't figure out what to say.

_That hasn't stopped you before._

But it's about William Drago, and I don't want to write a biased introduction. I can't believe I'm writing this, but can you write this part?

_You do realize I'm just as biased as you are, right?_

Please?

_Ooh, you're actually being polite. Didn't see that coming. I'll introduce dear little William for you, then, although I still think you could have written him better than I ever could._

xXx

The only way he could possibly make it more obvious was to confess that he and Alphonse had attempted human transmutation. 

But Rosé wasn't the only person there. 

There was a man to the back of the room. He had spent the past few minutes studying the architecture of the church, his face hidden by the shadows of his tan cloak's hood as he lowered his head to study the the intricate designs. Ed had been so caught up in his conversation that he hadn't even noticed the fourth occupant of the room. For that matter, neither had Rosé or Alphonse. But he had been paying attention to the alchemist and religious devotee, and it was the final comment on Ed's part that made him turn to look at the others.

At a brief glance, he looked like he could have possibly been a long lost Elric sibling. Dark blond curls went down to his shoulders, and his eyes were a dull shade of yellow. But then the man came closer, and it quickly became clear that the resemblance was only a passing one. 

“That's an interesting story,” he said, pushing the hood of his cloak back. He swiftly walked over to the trio. When he was standing only feet away, he spoke again. “I find it especially intriguing when you're trying to justify your view that scientists are closest to being gods – wouldn't a different one work better?”

Ed was silent. The story had been just for Rosé to hear, and having some unexpected eavesdropper suddenly made him more than a little nervous. Whoever this man was, he was older than either the Elric brothers or Rosé. Something about someone that old figuring out their secret was terrifying. Was it because they were more likely to report it to the military? Or was it because they were less understanding than kids and teenagers were?

The man met Ed's gaze for a single moment, but that was enough to thoroughly convince him that their secret had been discovered. He knew. He didn't know how he had figured it out, but he knew that they had committed human transmutation and now he was going to share it with everyone-

He held out his hand to Rosé. “My name is William Drago. I came here because I heard of your merciful sun god Leto, and I wish to learn more about him.” Something about the smile that graced his lips just didn't seem right – just didn't seem _human_. It was a stupid, unreasonable thing for an alchemist to think, but it was impossible to view the smile in any other way.

Rosé returned the smile and took his hand. 

“You're Rosé Thomas, aren't you?” he asked.

The smile grew a little larger. “I am.”

“The townspeople pointed me in your direction when I told them my reasons for visiting this beautiful little town,” he added. His voice was soft and inviting. It made Ed want to trust him, even when every inch of him was telling him to do the exact opposite. “They said I would find you with two alchemists. You're state alchemists, are you not?”

The tone shifted. He was still keeping up the pleasant persona, but disgust dripped off his tongue as he spoke the question. This man not only disliked state alchemists; he absolutely abhorred them. He had met men and women like him before, but never to this extent. 

“Actually, my brother's the state alchemist!” Al corrected. He was acting as friendly as he always did, but Ed knew his brother better than anyone. He had picked up on exactly what Ed had. “I'm just a normal alchemist. I'm Alphonse, and my brother is Edward.”

“The Fullmetal Alchemist?” William questioned.

“In the flesh!” Ed confirmed.

“You're...” Ed tensed, ready for a dig at his height. “...younger than I expected you to be. I'm surprised that the military would employ someone your age, even if you were gifted. At least you found your way here. Maybe the Sun God can help you make a better choice with what you want to do with your life.”

Rosé silently listened to what was being said, the look on her face betraying how much she already trusted a man who had been a stranger only minutes ago. When William indicated that the conversation had finished, he gestured for Rosé to show him more of the church. Ed and Al awkwardly remained until the two religious devotees finally departed to other parts of the town.

“I don't trust him,” Ed said. He crossed his arms and stared at the doorway they had exited through, thinking of the strange traveler and the ignorant girl. “He wants something with this town. I'm sure of it.”

“Do you think he wants the Philosopher's Stone?” his brother asked, looking away from the doorway and over at Ed. His voice echoed within his armor; it served as the perfect reminder for why they needed to determine if that was the reason for the miracles.

“Maybe.” He turned to Al. “But if it is here, we're going to get it first.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

In one of the less pristine parts of the town, there was Liore's sole inn. This inn had stood there for what must have been an eternity to the people of the town; it had been there since the town was first built. The two brothers were led to the inn by a group of children after they played with them for a bit, and both were eager to rest in the room that they would soon purchase. But the children and the other townspeople, for that matter, had failed to mention an important fact.

The inn was undergoing renovations.

That much was clear when they were standing outside it, and became even more evident once they entered the building itself. Tape sectioned off one of the hallways, leaving only a handful of rooms for them to stay in. Ed fished around in his pocket for the money to pay for one of them as they approached the front desk. He slammed the hand and the money down before the inn's owner.

“One room, please-”

“I'd like to stay in one of your rooms-”

Next to his own hand was another person's hand.

He looked over at the person in question.

William Drago was standing only a short distance away from him, now staring at him because he had come to the same realization that Ed had come to. The younger of the two narrowed his eyes into a glare that clearly showed how little he trusted him. The traveler's response was to roll his eyes and turn his attention back to the innkeeper. 

The woman looked up.

“We only have one room,” she slowly said, gesturing at the hallway that was under renovations. “The others are already booked or are currently being renovated.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Ed muttered.

“Brother!”

“Sorry,” he added. He wasn't really. He turned back to the inn's owner, then pointed at the man standing beside him. “So which one of us gets it? My brother and I or that guy?”

“I have a name. One, that I might add, you already know.”

Ed shrugged. “Doesn't mean I remember it.”

“I just introduced myself a little more than an hour ago, you little pipsqueak.” The final word was whispered, but was loud enough for Ed to hear. It certainly pissed him off – that was what digs at his height always did – but there was something comforting about the man momentarily dropping the persona he had put on back in the church.

“Who are you calling a half-pint midget?!”

“I never called you that-”

The woman cleared her throat.

The two stopped their bickering and turned to look at her, sheepish expressions on both of their faces. “In most cases,” she started, giving them a stern look, “I'd give the room to whoever asked first. Unfortunately, the two of you asked for a room at the same time. One of you is going to find somewhere else to stay the night – Father Cornello has let people sleep in the church before, so you could always go there.” 

Ed turned to look back at his brother. They couldn't risk it. Not in a town where they were already considered outcasts due to who they were; someone was bound to ask questions when they noticed that Al had failed to remove his armor. Even worse, someone might get a little curious and decide to remove the helmet. They had to get the room. That was certain.

But how would they go about doing it?

William Drago looked over at the two boys.

“I can't believe I'm doing this,” he muttered. Ed had to be the only one who had heard him speak. The volume was slightly lower than before, but just loud enough that only he could pick up on it. He doubted the man had even intended for that to happen. The young state alchemist was ready to argue with him, but then William turned back to the innkeeper.

“The three of us will share the room,” he announced, sliding his money across the desk. “I'm sure that the church is a perfectly good place to sleep in, but a room in an inn like this can do wonders for the weary traveler.”

“Hey, we're not-”

William slammed his foot down on Ed's.

“Could I have the room key, please?” he asked. His gaze momentarily met Ed's. He still didn't trust him in the slightest, but the meaning of the look was clear enough. He wanted them to go along with whatever he was scheming. Considering that they had no other options, it appeared they would have to do exactly that.

**xXx**

The moment they stepped inside their room, William softly closed the door behind them. That was the first of many warning signs. There was the way that he protectively stood before the only real exit from the room, and how he locked the door as the two brothers started to make a move towards it. 

“What do you want?” Ed growled.

William rested against the door. “Some gratitude would be appreciated,” he said. He poked Ed in the chest. “I saved your ass back there and you know it.” 

He was more correct than he could have ever guessed, but Ed would never let him know it. He crossed his arms and swatted the hand away. Glaring up at the much taller man, he argued, “I have no idea what you're talking about. All you did was force us into sharing a room with a stranger!”

The man abruptly straightened and walked over to Al. Ed gave a startled cry and went to stop him, but he was too late – William had picked up Al's helmet and was peering inside the nothingness that was within the armor. Al hurriedly jerked the helmet out of William's hands and slammed it back down.

The two brothers then stared, terrified, at William as he casually returned to his spot in front of the door. It was one thing for a person to learn the truth about them; it was another for a person to act so nonchalant about the whole ordeal. The later part suggested that they had some ulterior motive. It was rare due to how well they hid their secret, but they had been coerced into doing certain things when someone had learned the truth.

“You two committed human transmutation.” A statement, not a question. A bad sign, considering what they were dealing with. “It must be impossible for you two to stay anywhere that doesn't have some sort of privacy. How else are you supposed to hide how Alphonse doesn't have a body?”

“What do you want with us?” Al interrupted, making a smile start to spread across his brother's face. If they were going to be forced into anything, they weren't going to go down without a fight. The pinpricks of light peering out of his helmet narrowed. “No one would ever-no one would ever act that kindly towards us if they knew what we did.”

William studied him for a moment. “I could say that we're alike in some ways, but something tells me you would object to that.” Ed, slowly regaining the courage he had lost when William had looked into his brother, returned to glaring at him. “So let's do this, then. I ask some questions. You give me answers. And then we go about sharing this room like normal people would, and hope that another room opens up tomorrow.” 

The brothers looked at each other.

“We'll do it,” Ed said.

William left his spot by the door and went to sit down on one of the two beds in the room. When both Ed and Al remained standing, he gestured for them to sit down on the one across from him. They reluctantly did so. The bed creaked under the combined weight of the state alchemist and his armored brother, but neither one got up. If William had noticed, he certainly didn't seem to care. “My first question is this: why are the two of you here? I want to know why the military suddenly started paying attention to a town like this.”

“The colonel heard about the miracles in this town,” Ed hesitantly said, not wanting to reveal too much. He still didn't trust him, even after he revealed the supposed reason for his actions. “He knew my brother and I were interested in it.”

“You're looking for a way to get your bodies back.”

Al nodded.

“What have you learned so far?” he asked. Each word seemed to be picked with great care, and the look on his face was a scrutinizing one. For whatever reason, he was incredibly interested in knowing what they did. Was it because he wanted the philosopher's stone as well, and was trying to figure out how to get it? “How do the miracles work?”

“Our guess is that he's using the philosopher's stone,” Ed said.

Al added, “But we can't tell until we see one of the miracles.”

Whatever Ed had been expecting as a reaction, it was far from the reaction William had to the information. He paled. He glanced nervously at the door, and then back at them. He looked like he had seen a ghost, and something about that terrified both of the brothers. Someone who was searching for the philosopher's stone should have been ecstatic. What reason could he possibly have for that horrified expression on his face? 

“You're here for a philosopher's stone,” he said, his voice unnaturally quiet. They nodded. He looked the two of them over with a fear that just didn't make sense. Oddly resting one hand on the side of his right thigh, he leaned forward. “The two of you need to stop looking for it right now.”

“Why?” Ed shot back. “So you can get it the moment the two of us leave this place-”

“No!”

He stared at the man sitting across from him.

“A philosopher's stone is a horrible thing,” he said. “You two are alchemists. You know how the world works. If you want to get something, it needs to be achieved through equivalent exchange. You have to know what the most valuable thing of all is. Do you honestly think...” He sighed and got up. “Never mind. You'd never believe me.”

William slipped out of the room, leaving the two brothers to think about what he had said. Even as he saw William passing their window minutes later, Ed still couldn't understand the reason for his reaction – or the meaning behind the cryptic thing he had said. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

Let us return to Resembool.

It had been several years since the Elric brothers committed the alchemical taboo. For the most part, the town had remained relatively unchanged. The buildings all stood where they did on that night, save for the Reyes' home, which tragically was burnt to the ground by a lightning strike during a particularly bad thunderstorm. Reyes, who had started staying in the Elric home as soon as he returned home from his travels, continued to live in the house that the Elric brothers still called home.

It had been a long day for Reyes. He had been tending to the garden in the morning, and had spent the majority of the latter half of the day at the Rockbell home with Pinako and her granddaughter, Winry. He had only just returned home, the sun having set hours ago, when he heard the phone ringing. This immediately made him forget all of his plans of a blissful night's rest, as only two people would call the house this late at night: Edward and Alphonse.

He picked up the phone and sat down in the nearest chair. Though Edward in particular tended to make things short when calling other people, a call to Reyes at this hour meant that the two brothers had run into some sort of trouble and needed his advice. Reyes was admittedly terrible when it came to the sort of things that the boys dealt with, but he was one of the few people they fully trusted. Even Colonel Mustang – who Edward frequently complained of, yet seemed to support the Elrics – never had the boys fully open up to him.

And Reyes didn't blame them for that in the slightest. 

“Hello?” he said.

There was a bit of a scramble in the background, and what sounded suspiciously like the two boys were arguing over who would get to call Reyes. 

“Hey, Uncle Reyes,” Edward said. Alphonse was sulking in the background; he could hear metal armor clanking together as the younger brother gave an annoyed huff. “Al and I finally arrived in Liore today. We haven't seen any miracles yet, but we're still certain it's a philosopher's stone.”

There was a certain worrying lack of enthusiasm to his voice. They had spent countless hours trying to find any trace of one. They should have been ecstatic at their discovery of a philosopher's stone, but Edward made it somehow sound like it was a tragedy. “What's wrong, Ed?”

There was a moment of hesitation. “We met a traveler today.”

Another voice cut over the call: Alphonse's. “He figured our secret out, and he didn't even see inside my armor.” Reyes immediately felt a cold jolt of fear at the statement – that had never happened before, and those who learned the truth tended to abuse it. If this traveler had that knowledge...

“We're forced to share a room with him,” Edward butted in, apparently wrenching the phone back from Alphonse if the startled cry on his younger brother's part was anything to go by. “His name is William Drago, and he says he came here to learn more about the miracles. But he's lying. I know it. He asked if we knew how the miracles happened.”

“What did you tell him?”

There was a loud clanking sound as Alphonse grabbed the phone. “We told him our theory that it was a philosopher's stone. He looked like he saw a ghost, Uncle Reyes. And then he told us to stop looking for it, saying that it was a horrible thing. He mentioned...he mentioned something about equivalent exchange.”

Reyes sunk further back into the chair, trying to get a grasp on what his nephew was saying. Alchemy was something he had still had very little knowledge. He understood the basics of the craft. Equivalent exchange dictated every action, and the only way to bypass the laws of alchemy was with the usage of a philosopher's stone. But as he listened to the words that William Drago had uttered secondhand, he began to get the same anxious feeling that the boys had – along with a growing knot of anger is his stomach. “What did he say?” 

A pause. The phone, for once, was not taken. It was handed off to the eldest Elric brother without any arguments. Edward hesitated. Then, taking a deep breath, he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, “That we should know what the most valuable thing is.” 

Reyes nearly dropped the phone.

It wasn't hard for him to fathom. Not when his entire existence had become dictated by that fact, and not when the boys had failed to complete their resurrection of their mother because of their inability to produce what was impossible to ever create.

A human soul.

“I'm coming to Liore,” Reyes decided. There was simply no other option. He needed to be there for them. He had let them travel on their own because he thought they could handle themselves, but that was before this revelation. He was terrified for them – terrified about the stranger who knew far too much about something that no one had ever found, and terrified about the implications of William Drago's warning. 

“But you never want to leave Resembool!” Alphonse protested.

“What if the military shows up here?” Edward added, worry slipping into his voice. “You've always been afraid of them. You've never come with us to eastern command, and you left the room when Mustang and Hawkeye came years ago.” 

He took a deep breath, tightening his grip on the chair's arm as he tried to calm down. “You need me there. There are things...there are things that I never told you about me, or about your father-”

“He doesn't matter!” Edward interrupted. “He missed our entire childhoods. Why should we care about him now?”

Reyes tightened his grip even more. The strength was simply too much for the chair; the wood snapped. He slowly removed his hand and stared down at the destruction he had accidentally caused. After a moment passed, he placed the broken part of the chair down on the ground beside him. “Because it might help you understand the philosopher's stone.”

The boys were both silent. How could they ever reply to something like that?

“I'll leave tonight,” Reyes said.

There was muffled protests on the other end, but he wished the boys good night and goodbye. Then he placed the phone back in its spot, and went upstairs to pack his bags. He had a long journey ahead of him, and he needed to be prepared for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter! I apologize for taking so long to write it. The past few weeks have been incredibly busy, and it didn't help that I temporarily lost my muse for this story. But I started watching FMAB with my best friend last night, and seeing the beginning of the anime again inspired me to work more on this story.
> 
> Besides an explanation for my absence, I have another thing that I wanted to share - I made a Discord server for this fanfiction and Butterfly Effect! It should help me stay motivated to work on this, so please think of joining if you have a Discord. Here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/k54PK7S. So far it only has one other person besides me, but more should be joining in the near future.
> 
> Thank you again for reading my story!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5**

When Edward rose the next morning, he found that there was only one other person in the room: Alphonse, who currently had his head in the book he had most recently bought. William's bed oddly looked the same as it had the previous night. It only took a few minutes for Alphonse to confirm what he had already suspected. William had never returned to their room that night. Something that was deeply suspicious, given his insistence on laying ownership to the room the night before. Why would someone go through the trouble of fighting them for a room if he wasn't even going to sleep in it?

But there wasn't much they could do about it. When they finally tracked down the traveler, he was in the middle of chatting with some of the townspeople at the roadside cafe. They couldn't address his sudden disappearance without risking him mentioning their own unusual situation. So Edward just angrily plopped into the seat beside him, knowing that this was the best he could do in the current moment. He ordered what the traveler had; the place had only a few breakfast options.

Sensing Edward's dark mood, the townspeople who had been clamoring around William quickly departed to the places they were supposed to be. Even the cafe's owner wisely turned his attention away from the two.

Alphonse carefully sat down in the seat beside Edward, not wanting to accidentally knock over the cafe's radio like he had the day before. 

Edward took an obnoxiously loud sip of his drink, causing William to look up from his own meal and over at him with an annoyed expression on his face. “We thought over what you said,” Edward commented. He took another loud sip, glad to have found something that irritated him. 

William looked back down at his own meal. “And?”

“You meant a human soul, didn't you?”

There was nothing more valuable in all of alchemy. He had suspected for quite some time that it was responsible for their failed human transmutation; a soul had a high price in alchemy. It wasn't as simple as throwing a handful of elements together to get a brand new product. You needed to have one to begin with, and only then could what seemed to be miracles be performed.

William raised his head and glanced over at them. “I did.”

“How could you...how could possibly know something like that?” Alphonse asked, leaning forward and staring at William. Nervousness seeped into his voice as he spoke, and the hesitation was even more of an indicator of his fear.

William took a slow sip of his drink. “I just do-

I just do?

_What, you have a problem with it?_

I don't know. It just seems...

_Edgy? Mysterious? That's what William was like----I don't appreciate you slapping me. Annnd now you're giving me the silent treatment, like I'm the one in the wrong. I'm just telling it how it was. Well, if this conversation's over, I think I'll get back to writing. You can just sit there being all moody._

William took a slow sip of his drink. “I just do.” 

The older Elric brother narrowed his eyes, then mirrored the gesture. By this point, he barely had anything left in his glass, but there was just something satisfying about giving William a taste of his own medicine. That wasn't the sort of knowledge that a person would normally know – even alchemists like them had been oblivious to it. William had a secret. That was as clear as day. Now he just had to figure out what the secret was, and how that secret would possibly let William know something like that. 

The piercing rays of the sun suddenly dimmed as a thick storm cloud rolled in front of the sun. Darkness was immediately cast on the three visitors to the town. Edward doubted a thunderstorm would occur in a place like this, but he still felt a small jolt of anxiousness at the thought of one suddenly starting up.

“So-so a philosopher's stone is made of a human soul?” his brother asked. His voice was tense with fear, and Edward could hear his metal body shaking as he waited for a response.

William stared down into his drink.

“Is it?” Edward demanded.

The traveler shook his head.

“No,” he quietly said. “It's made of hundreds, all screaming out in frustration and anger at the lives that they will never get to have.”

For the first few moments after William had given his answer, all that Edward could do was stare and try to comprehend the ramifications of what had been said. He had to be lying. Something like that just had to be impossible – how would someone even go about getting that many souls without someone hearing about a great massacre? But then he started to remember all the stories that he had over the years. Stories of the vast range of miracles a philosopher's stone could create out of seemingly nothing, stories of how the stones repeatedly defied the most basic law of alchemy.

If someone traded in human souls, wouldn't miracles like that be possible? And if the miracles were to be repeated, multiple souls would be needed. It was simple math, but a disgusting reality that he didn't even want to think too deeply about. He didn't know what to do. He had come up here with his brother in the hopes of finding a miracle cure, but now what? They couldn't...They couldn't use a philosopher's stone now, not after learning what it really was.

Why had he been so stupid to bet on a miracle? He was a fucking alchemist. He should have known that miracles were impossible, and that there was always a price. His automail limbs and his brother's metal body were testament to that. He didn't want to cry – not when Alphonse needed him to be strong – but tears began to form in the corner of his eyes. His lip quivered. He clenched his hands into fists on top of the table, staring down into his glass in much the same way that William was.

“Brother,” Alphonse whispered. His voice was still trembling as he grabbed onto Edward's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. Edward raised his head up and tried to look like there weren't tears streaming down his face, but he knew that his reaction was clear to see. “It'll be okay.”

He met his brother's gaze.

It pained him to look at Alphonse like this. It pained him to know that it was all his fault, and pained him to know that they had just lost the sole way of getting his body back. And it pained him, most of all, to realize that Alphonse was trying to be strong for _him_ , even though he was supposed to be the older brother.

_Oh. You're back._

…I wanted to write. I'm still not forgiving you.

_Uh-huh. Anyways, you're a little late. I just finished writing this scene. You could do the next chapter._

It's not done yet.

_Yeah, it is. This is one of the biggest moments in the Elric brothers' lives. It's what shapes what comes next. Why would I want to end the chapter on any other note?_

Because it's not just a story about alchemy, idiot. It's a story about family, and you need to have William's reaction to it if you want there to be a theme. So give me the pen.

_But I don't know his reaction. The Elrics never said._

Of course they didn't. Which is why I need to write, so hand the pen over.

_Fine. You better not ruin this. I worked hard on this scene._

I won't. 

**xXx**

He stared down at the little ice cubes in his empty glass, swirling the straw about as he listened to the quiet conversation occurring only a few feet away. Alphonse and Edward Elric were incredibly close to each other; it wasn't hard to tell. Their reactions to the revelation that he had prompted was a perfect example of why it was so obvious. Neither wanted to appear weak, and he knew it wasn't because he was sitting there. Add in Alphonse's decision to try comforting his older brother, and he understood exactly how they ticked.

Because they reminded him of his own siblings.

His grip on the glass tightened.

_“It'll be okay,” he said, his voice trembling as he spoke. He was saying it to them, but it was more for his own benefit than theirs. This was the last time he would be with them. The last time they'd be a family. He didn't want it to end like this._

“How can it be okay?” Edward hissed. William sat completely forgotten beside him. “Al, I-I don't know how I'm going to get your body back. That was our last option. There's no other way for you to go back to normal.”

_He could see it in their faces. How could it be okay? They knew the truth as much as he did, and it **hurt**. His baby brother – his sweet, sweet baby brother – clung to his sister's leg and let out a loud sob. They'd go to the east, she had said, and then go their separate ways. But watching him like this, he knew that following through with that plan would forever break his brother._

“We don't know that,” Alphonse replied. His voice was still shaking, but there was a hopeful tone to it – a foolish hopefulness, but a hopefulness all the same. “We could still find a way. It just make take a little longer.”

 _“We don't know that this is goodbye,” his brother said. He gave them all a grin, his sharp teeth glinting in the candlelight. “We might be able to be together again, someday. It just might take some time.” The grin grew, despite the tears streaming down his face in thick torrents. “And time's something we all have a lot of.”_

His glass shattered, sending little shards into his flesh as Edward and Alphonse turned to stare at him. Edward's eyes were red from crying, and his cheeks were flushed, but the sudden noise had startled him so much that his tears had ceased falling.

William absentmindedly pulled the shards out of his hand. Pain like this was nothing compared to what he had experienced before, and was nothing compared to his aching heart. “I should get going now,” he said, leaving a large wad of cash near the shattered glass. He had to repay the owner for breaking his glassware. “I promised Rosé that I'd meet her in the church after breakfast. If you want to find me, I'll be there.”

Rising to his feet, he left the two broken brothers before they even had a chance to object to what he had said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After nearly two months of going without an update, I'm finally back! I apologize for how long it took me to write this. I had no idea what I wanted to do with this chapter when I first started it back in late July, but was hit with a burst of inspiration this morning. Hopefully it won't take me as long to write future installments of this!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

Ed no longer felt hungry.

He paid for for his drink and left the roadside cafe. He and Al wandered aimlessly around the town's square for the first few minutes that followed the conversation with William. They had no reason to be here anymore. Father Cornello and his false god were a reminder of the future that had just slipped out of their hands. There was no reason to demand a meeting anymore. Even if they could get their hands on the stone, what would they do with it? They couldn't use it to get their bodies back.

That would make Ed even more of a monster than he already was.

They sat on the edge of the fountain, Ed staring down in the dust while his brother looked up at the dark sky. 

“What are we going to tell Colonel Mustang?” Alphonse quietly asked. There was a clanking sound as his armor shook together; he always made that noise when he was upset now. Or would he be making that noise for eternity, since they had just lost their sole chance at getting their bodies back? 

“I don't know,” Ed admitted. His grip on the side of the fountain tightened. The colonel had been nice to them; he could give the bastard that much. But he was a man of the military, and Uncle Reyes and Pinako had both raised the Elrics on a strong diet of distrusting the military until proven otherwise. “Even if we told him what William told us, he'd just tell us to deal with Cornello and his goons.” 

“...I guess.”

They fell back into silence.

“Ed?”

Ed raised his head up and looked over at his brother.

“What do you...what do you think Uncle Reyes wants to tell us?” Al asked. His hands were shaking as he rested them in his lap and fiddled with the loincloth covering his waist. “He said he need to talk about himself and Dad. Why-Why would he mention that when we were talking about souls?”

The mention of their absentee father made anger suddenly bubble up from within him, but Ed quickly pushed away the feeling so he could focus on what Al had just brought up. A childhood memory came to the forefront of the mind; he couldn't have been more than a few years old, since it had Hohenheim in it. He was peeking around the door to his study, watching as his father flipped through a book. The page had suddenly torn from him flipping it too fast.

But Hohenheim had been unfazed.

One hand adjusting his glasses and the other pressed up against the book, he had fixed the tear with a single act of alchemy. There hadn't be any circles involved—not ones that he could see, anyways. Edward had always guessed his memory of the time was faulty, since he was only a few years old, but now...

He took a deep breath.

“Hohenheim could transmute with a circle,” Ed said.

The pinpricks of light in Al's helmet grew wide.

“Uncle Reyes never said how he lost his eye,” he added, getting to his feet and looking directly at his brother. “What if they committed human transmutation?”

Al shook his head. “But Uncle Reyes can't transmute, Ed, and he barely knows anything about alchemy-”

“He knows enough about it to understand how souls are involved,” Ed interrupted, and to that Al had no comeback. Ed turned his gaze up to the clouds steadily rolling in. There was an ominous roll of thunder in the distance, though he doubted it was going to rain in this desert town. Uncle Reyes wouldn't arrive for at least another hour, and they needed answers.

And the only person who seemed to know what was going on was William Drago.

“We need to talk to William again,” Ed decided. Al got to his feet and followed Ed's gaze as he turned to look at the church in the distance. “There has to be a reason he knows so much about philosopher's stones, and we're going to find out what.”

_I never thought I thought I'd be grateful for Ed and Al's stupidity. They should have waited for Reyes to come, but it's a good thing they didn't—I would have never been introduced._

You would have. You've known them for years, and they were bound to return to Dublith to visit their old teacher at some point.

_Yeah, but then how would we have gotten that nice family reunion?_

...You have a point.

_Of course I do. Now, where we were? I believe I had a few dramatic reveals to write..._

**xXx**

They found William with Rosé in the hallway of the church, exchanging pleasantries as the two brothers approached. It was as if the conversation in the center of town had never happened—William was smiling as he spoke with the young woman, a light tone to his voice.

The smile immediately began to falter when he noticed Ed and Al, but he quickly regained it as he pulled away from Rosé with a quick comment about wanting to talk to the alchemists. The timing couldn't have been more perfect—one of Cornello's men whisked Rosé away for a brief conversation before departing for the town's leader. 

There was something about the look he gave Ed and Al that made the state alchemist hesitate, but he pushed it aside as he turned his attention to the traveler. 

“We need to talk,” Ed said to William. Al nodded in agreement behind him. William's smile fully faded now; he was looking at them with a barely concealed frown. “You know about philosopher's stones.” 

“I do,” William confirmed.

“Well, how do you?” Ed demanded, crossing his arms. Rosé was beginning to pay attention to the conversation now, but Ed frankly didn't care—he had to get answers from William, and he had to get them now.

William didn't say anything for a moment. He just studied the alchemist before him, studying him with eyes too similar to his own for it to be a coincidence. 

“You're not the only one with a sin, Edward,” William finally said, his tone vague and mysterious, before turning back to Rosé. The smile was on his face once more; it had appeared just as quickly as it had disappeared moments earlier. “Did you ask for me to meet with Father Cornello?”

“I did,” she confirmed. She gave a worried glance in the direction of the Elrics, but neither said anything. Ed kept his arms crossed and gaze on William, while Al nervously looked between the two. “I asked for Edward and Alphonse as well, since they both wanted to meet with him to discuss the Sun God yesterday.”

Ed and Al exchanged a look.

That hadn't been part of the plan. They had just wanted to talk to William and get answers from him before Uncle Reyes arrived. But as golden eyes looked into white pinpricks of light and vice versa, they realized that it was their responsibility to get to the bottom of Cornello's lies. It didn't matter that they couldn't use the stone to get their body back. A man was out there abusing human souls, and they were the only ones who seemed to care.

They had to deal with Cornello.

Then they could figure out what to do with his philosopher's stone, and where they were supposed to go next. They turned back to Rosé, Ed giving her a grateful grin as he stepped up next to William. “Thanks, Rosé,” Ed said. “Al and I can't wait to speak with Cornello.”

William gave him the briefest of looks, confusion and something that could have almost been considered distrust flickering across his face, though Ed couldn't possibly figure out why he was looking at him that way.

It took several minutes for Cornello's goon to return. He had that same sort of look to his face that he had when he had glanced at the two earlier, and Ed didn't like the way that he kept looking down at his chest. There was something fishy about this situation; he would have to be on high alert. The man led the four down a series of unfamiliar hallways until they ended up in front of an unassuming door.

They entered the room.

The goon led first, followed by Al, Ed, Rosé and finally William. Each looked around the room and at the few disciples stationed near the entrance. “His Holiness is very busy, so it's not easy to get an audience with him. You three are very lucky.”

“I'll try not to talk for long,” Ed cheerfully said, giving his back a grin.

“Yes, let's end it right away.”

_What?_

“Like this!” A gun was suddenly withdrawn from the depths of the man's shirt and pressed directly into one of the holes in Al's helmet. Without a single moment of hesitation, the goon pulled the trigger. The effect was immediate: his helmet went flying back from the power of the bullet, and Al's hollow body was toppled to the ground by the force of the impact.

Rosé screamed.

Ed knew his brother wasn't dead—there was nothing in the helmet to be shot at. But instinct still kicked in, and he went to move forward to reach his brother's side-  
Only to be stopped by the disciples, who had suddenly decided to place their weapons in front of him and in front of William, who was also rushing towards the fallen Elric's side. 

“Brother Cray!” Rosé yelled. “What are you doing!?” 

“Rosé, these are heathens that were trying to entrap His Holiness. They're evil,” the man lied. Ed was craning his head to get a good look at his brother's body, but there was only so much that he could do with the bladed weapons constricting his movement. 

“What!?” Rosé said. If Ed wasn't so worried by this turn of events, he might have felt sorry for her: she was so naive that she couldn't see the bigger picture. He and Al presented a threat because they could risk revealing the truth to the general population, and William was just unfortunate enough to have been there when they were. “But His Holiness would never...would never let you...”

“He did,” the goon said. He turned his gun on Ed's head. He rushed to come up with some sort of plan to get out of this situation. He was sure Al was already concocting a solution, but- “The words of His Holiness are the words of God—this is the will of God!” 

A hand suddenly grabbed onto the gun.

“Hmm,” Al said, getting to his feet. “Guess there's some really bad gods out there.”

The goon let out a startled, terrified yelp, and Rosé's scream rang out through the room. Ed took this as the moment to attack his distracted captors, and William's seemed to do the same. When Ed turned to look at the traveler and offer his help, William's captors already laid in a heap on the ground, and he had one of their weapons resting on his shoulder.

The rest were easily taken care of.

Then came explaining things to Rosé. He was surprised by how helpful William was during the explanation; he said things in such a knowledgeable tone that Ed knew he would have felt calmer if he had been the one receiving that information. By the time that they had finished their conversation, Rosé wanted to learn the truth about Cornello and his purported god, but the man was good at hiding the truth from his followers. They would have to come up with a sneaky way of getting her in when they went to confront Cornello.

“I got it,” Edward decided. “What if we hide you in Al's armor? It's hollow, and it should be big enough for you to fit-”

“How about we don't,” William interrupted.

Ed glared at William and crossed his arms. “Why not? It's a perfectly good plan.” He paused, then hotly added, “I bet you don't have a better one.”

William groaned. Resting one hand on his waist and the other on his forehead, he massaged his temples as he looked Ed over with an expression of disbelief on his face. “You're just like him, I swear. Same tacky sense in clothing, and same impulsiveness.” He glanced over at Rosé. “Look, you don't need to hide Rosé in Al's armor. She can see how corrupt Cornello is right now—she's just in too much shock for it to register. Give her a few hours, and she'll be good. In the meantime, I'll go talk to Cornello-”

Edward's glare deepened. “We're going to talk to him, too.”

“You're just a kid,” William said. “I'm not letting a kid into a potential battlefield.”

“I'm a state alchemist for the military,” Edward said, trying his best—and failing—to withhold the anger from his voice. “Al and I have been through hell, so don't you dare underestimate us.”

Al took a hesitant step forward. “You told us what a philosopher's stone is, William,” he quietly said, hands shaking as he clenched them tightly into fists at his side. “We can't...We can't ignore that now. If Father Cornello is using human souls for something like this, we need to stop him. It's our duty as alchemists...and as people.”

William looked them over and sighed.

“Fine,” he said. “You two can come.”

**xXx**

When the trio arrived at the doors that Rosé had directed them to, they were greeted by said doors ominously opening to let them in. The clichéness—and general sense of foreboding—was added to by the doors closing behind them. William seemed unfazed by this; Edward did his best to act similarly, but it was _creepy_.

“Welcome to the church of the great Leto. Did you come to hear me preach?” 

Ed turned to see Cornello stand on top of a platform that overlooked the rest of the room, one hand on a railing and the other resting on a cane. He gave off the impression of someone who wasn't a threat, but Ed knew otherwise. 

“Yes, by all means, teach us,” Ed said with a smirk, “Like about how you use your lame alchemy to deceive your followers!”

Cornello just smiled at the trio.

“Well...I'm not sure what you mean,” he innocently replied. “Please don't confused my miracles with alchemy-”

“It's alchemy,” William plainly interrupted. He stepped forward and looked right up at the man, a downright intimidating look on his face. William had been fairly nice to them in hindsight; Ed was suddenly grateful that he hadn't decided to get on their bad side. “I don't know where you got it, but there's a philosopher's stone in your ring.” 

The smile remained.

“You're not a state alchemist, are you?” he asked.

“I'm offended you'd think I was one,” William said. His lips parted into a distinctively evil smile; Ed suddenly came to realize that he didn't know why William was even here in the first place. “I want you to tell me everything about who gave that to you, though I think I already know. Were your friends decked out in blue, by any chance?”

Now the smile faltered.

Ed felt his stomach twist and turn as he tried to guess what William was referring to. The phrasing made it sound like some kind of uniform, and the only blue uniforms he could think of were the military's...

“Why should I tell you? You just want a taste of the power-”

“You misunderstand me,” William said. “I know very well what a philosopher's stone can do, and I know that there's only one place you could have gotten that stone in your ring from. Now, let me say it again: I want you to tell me everything about how you got your hands on that philosopher's stone.”

Cornello's lips turned down in to a frown. He simply turned back to a lever that Ed hadn't noticed before, and pulled it down with an equally simple motion. There was no bravado involved; the performance was over. Gears turned nearby, and something clicked. Now something scaly was whacking against the floor, its timing wild and unpredictable. A low growl filled the air.

“It looks like I'll just have to have my chimera take care of you,” Cornello said with a shrug, hand still resting on his cane. “It's a shame Brother Cray didn't kill you like he was supposed to—I'd take being shot with a bullet over being torn apart by a chimera any day.”

Ed turned.

There was a monster standing behind them—it was the only way he could describe the sight he saw. It had the head of a lion, and he didn't know what the back of it was supposed to be. Whatever it was, it wasn't natural, and he knew that they were in trouble. He leaned down and went to make a spear.

But the movement caught the chimera's attention just before his hands touched the ground, and he realized it would be nearly impossible to make a weapon in time. Al moved to fend off the beast—ready to rely on brute strength in lieu of an transmutation circle he didn't have the time to make—but he was too far away.

And then William was standing in front of him.  
It should have been impossible for someone to move so fast. The only person he had ever seen move so quickly was Uncle Reyes the few times he had joined Ed and Al when they were sparring. The chimera swiped at William's thigh, cutting through cloth and skin without William giving so much as a cry of pain. He just stood there and stared the chimera in the eye, hand going forward to reach for its mane-

The other paw swung out, knocking him to the ground. William hurried to his feet, but the chimera had been given too much time.

It sunk its teeth into his stomach. Now William cried out—a shocked, almost horrified cry as he tried to wrench himself free. Cornello watched on as his chimera made quick work of the traveler; it broke his spine with a single snap, then sent him flying against the wall on the other side of the room. Ed had to resist the urge to wretch when he saw how broken and battered William's barely moving body was. Bones were jutting out through skin, and blood was pulling all around him.

If that wasn't enough, the chimera made one final swipe at William, sending his body into the darkness it had emerged from.

“William!” Al cried out, clearly torn between staying beside his brother and running off after William. Ed just finished transmuting his spear. He had seen enough death to know that William had no chance of surviving his injuries; they were simply too numerous and too severe. 

It was then that the doors opened.

All in the room turned to see who had arrived—even the chimera tore its gaze away from the two brothers. A familiar man stood in the doorway, hand resting on a sheathed sword at his side. Ed felt relief rushed through him when he looked up to see the face of his uncle, only to be replaced with horror when he realized Uncle Reyes wasn't remotely prepared to deal with something like this. He might have been good at sparring, but he barely knew anything of alchemy, and didn't regularly encounter threats like Ed and Al had been.

Uncle Reyes looked at the bloodstain left by William's corpse.

“Who did that blood belong to?” he quietly said. Ed froze. He had never once heard Uncle Reyes use such an angry tone on someone. Al had once mentioned hearing him speak with roughly the same anger after they lost their bodies, but their uncle had never used it against another person.

“It-It's William's,” Al got out. 

He raised a shaking hand and pointed in the direction William's body had been thrown by the chimera. Uncle Reyes followed his finger, then turned his attention back to the chimera. His hand went to withdraw his sword—one that Ed didn't even know he had—but Ed's body was moving on autopilot. He went to swing at the chimera's face with his spear, but the chimera made a swipe for the metal of the spear and for his face-

Uncle Reyes was suddenly before him with the same speed William had moved with, eye patch fluttering to the floor alongside drops of blood. 

Ed's eyes widened in horror. 

Al cried out. 

Their uncle's body swayed for a moment, but then he regained his balance. He swung his now unsheathed blade at the chimera. It continued to swipe at him, but failed to land another hit; he easily managed to sidestep and dodge its various attacks, landing numerous ones of his own before it finally fell, dead, to the floor.

He turned back to the brothers.

The only sign that he had been swiped by its claws was the blood staining his face and the missing eye patch. Wounds that should have been there were gone with not even a scar left in their place. And perhaps most shocking of all was the lack of any sort of old injury around the eye that had always been covered by an eye patch.

It was open.

In the place of a normal eyeball was a strange red marking of a serpent curling its body around a pattern of triangles. It looked like it had been tattooed on—like it was some sort of injury—and Ed was horrified when he saw that it moved when Uncle Reyes looked from one brother to the other. 

“This is what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said.

Ed and Al stared in horror.

“H-How!?” Cornello suddenly demanded, making a move forward towards the three. There was a spark of red as his cane was transmuted into a machine gun. “You should have been killed! I-I saw it tear open your face-”

Al cut him off with a startled cry of horror.

William's corpse—he couldn't possibly be alive from the seriousness of his injuries—was silently making its way to Cornello, who was too distracted by Uncle Reyes's miracle to notice that corpse. Ed could see the bones moving about in its chest, could see the blood falling to the ground all around it, could the bones through the tears in its leg, pouring more and more blood to the floor-

It reached out a hand and grabbed onto Cornello's shoulder.

Cornello spun around and dropped the gun.

“You-You're a monster!”

The corpse kicked the gun off the side of the balcony. “That's hypocritical,” it said, in a voice that was undeniably William's. It lifted up Cornello's ring finger and slid off the ring, inspecting the philosopher's stone as Cornello hurried to run down the steps.

But he stood no chance of escaping: Uncle Reyes swiftly moved to cut him off, and he raised his hands up in surrender when the metal of the blade was put against his throat. Ed and Al could only watch as the scene unfolded before them. Cornello was little more than a blabbering mess now, going on about how it was impossible for both of them to be alive. 

William's corpse pried the philosopher's stone out of the metal of the ring, let it fall to the floor, and promptly stepped on it. It was reduced to nothing more than red dust. Now that its apparent task was complete, it turned its attention to the Elrics and their uncle, who they were still staring at with confusion and shock. 

There was a flash of red.

The wounds began to heal themselves. Skin reached across gaps to close wounds without leaving any scars, bones and organs rearranging themselves to match their true configuration. Even the shirt was healed with sparks of red. The only thing that was left untouched was the pant leg that had been torn up by the chimera's claws.

And through the cuts in the cloth, he could see a red marking that was identical to Uncle Reyes's.

William hopped over the railings and landed on the ground below without any apparent injuries, the ground breaking underneath his feet as he straightened. He looked at the Elrics for the briefest of moments before he turned to Uncle Reyes, eyes narrowing into a wary glare.

“You must be Wrath,” he said.

Uncle Reyes turned to look at him, the blade of his sword still held up against Cornello's throat. His gaze dropped down to the marking on his leg, then back up at the traveler's face. “You one of the others,” he said. “ _He_ told me about you.”

“What else did he say?” William nonchalantly asked.

“Uncl-Uncle Reyes? What-What's going?” Al hesitantly questioned, nervously glancing between the now very much alive William and Uncle Reyes. Ed watched the situation unfolding, trying to determine what the best course of action was. But he couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do now—they were dealing with something that should have been impossible. He knew that Cornello was telling the truth about what he had seen happen to Uncle Reyes. The paw had definitely connected with his face, or else he wouldn't have gone stumbling back.

Reyes Eberhardt should have been dead.

“Your uncle is a homunculus, Alphonse,” William said, lips curling back into that same evil smile from before as he continued to stare at Uncle Reyes. “A philosopher's stone can function on its own, but sometimes it can be injected into a living thing. A homunculus is created; as of right now, there's only a select few. Your uncle is the youngest of them all—Wrath, the seventh homunculus.”

“My name is Reyes,” their uncle growled. “Wrath is no more my name than William is yours... _Envy_."

He gave a little bow.

“Guilty as charged,” the homunculus confirmed.


End file.
